Dive-site story
Sunk as an artificial reef in False Bay in nineteen ninety-four, the former Algerine-class minesweeper HMS Pelorus later served the South African Navy as SAS Pietermaritzburg. The vessel rests on a clean sand patch off Miller's Point. Over decades of oceanic swell, the superstructure collapsed significantly, creating an intricate maze of twisted iron plating, exposed ribs, and sheltered hollows that harbor dense invertebrate colonies and cold-water fish.
Extensive hull framing covered in dense carpets of strawberry anemones and sea squirts
Frequent encounters with small benthic catsharks sheltering inside the broken wreckage plates
Shoals of Cape reef fish aggregating around the stern section and rudder assembly
Location
Use the map to plan with your operator and confirm the exact entry point on the day.
Seasonality
Winter brings northwesterly winds that clear the inshore waters of False Bay, offering the calmest surface conditions and best underwater visibility.
Marine life
| Species | Likelihood | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pyjama sharkPoroderma africanum | Common | ||||||||||||
| Puffadder shysharkHaploblepharus edwardsii | Common | ||||||||||||
| Red romanChrysoblephus laticeps | Common | ||||||||||||
| Cape fur sealArctocephalus pusillus pusillus | Seasonal | ||||||||||||
| Gasflame nudibranchBonisa argentea | Common |
Marine forecast
